The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
In 21st century presidential administrations, the “peaceful transition of power” now includes a peaceful transition of executive murder.
From drone strikes to torture, Barack Obama has made a historic stamp on American foreign policy.
Despite President Trump’s anti-interventionist stances on several foreign policy issues, he has been a strong critic of Obama’s Iran deal in 2015.
Donald Trump put Iran “officially on notice” last weekend after they tested a ballistic missile.
For foreign policy, Trump nominated former general James Mattis for Secretary of Defense, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for U.N. Ambassador and ExxonMobil CEO, Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State.
General James Mattis, better known as Mad Dog Mattis, has years of military experience as a general.
To his troops, Mattis has said, “There are some people who think you have to hate them in order to shoot them. I don’t think you do. It’s just business.”
Between Mattis’s desire for war with Iran and Tillerson’s ties with Vladimir Putin, people have had significant trepidation to this administration’s foreign policy.
Even though Obama was a liberal president, most of his defense secretaries were republicans.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed multiple lawsuits against Obama during his presidency. One of which was about his nontransparent drone strikes.
“The U.S. targeted killing program operates without meaningful oversight outside the executive branch, and essential details about the program still remain secret, including what criteria the government uses to put people on CIA and military kill lists as well as how much evidence is required before it does so,” said the ACLU.
Obama and Trump may have many stark differences in rhetoric, but one policy of Obama’s that Trump will continue is the drone strike raids in seven middle eastern countries.
One of the strikes Obama was sued over resulted in the death of an American citizen. The victim was a 16-year-old boy from Colorado who was visiting family in Yemen in 2011.
Other victims of the strike included the boy’s cousin and other Yemeni citizens.
President Trump’s first round of drone strikes on Jan. 29 killed the boy’s sister.
During a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio November 2015, Donald Trump addressed his view on waterboarding.
“Would I approve waterboarding? You bet your ass I would. In a heartbeat,” said Trump.
One of Obama’s campaign promises included closing Gitmo. Even though he had two years of a democratic congress, Obama was gentleman enough to hand off Gitmo to Trump, force-feeding and all.
Because Obama only put an executive order to dampen the Bush administration’s torture techniques instead of legislation through Congress, Trump, or any future president, can overturn it with an executive order of their own.
With refugees migrating around the world, people have protested the care given to refugees fearing terror in their home country.
There were not marches in the streets, shut down airports, or large social media campaigns against Barack Obama’s drone strike regime which contributed to the massive global refugee crisis.
While we can expect several changes with the new administration, the imperialistic foreign policy is likely here to stay.
Wesley Hortenbach
Reporter
Whort350@uwsp.edu
